Things To Be Thankful For, Come Thanksgiving Day?

Most of what came from 6 hot pepper plants - the final harvest. Image credit:John Laumer

Last night I dreamed our family was gathered around the Thanksgiving table and each person took a turn, as is our custom, to describe what they were thankful for. When it got to me I could not speak and the imagery shifted to environmental gloom and doom. There were the invasive Chinese stink bugs gobbling my garden beans. And the two record hot spells of July trashing my pepper production (as pictured). This never happened to me before in 40 years of gardening; so it is understandable that the brain tries to make sense of it in dream context

What will I say this Thanksgiving, really? I have a hunch many of you will be grappling with this same question.Here's my starter list - in no particular order.

There are many early-producing bush bean varieties, which will hopefully fruit fully before the Chinese Stink Bug invasion of 2011. (Will have to remember to freeze some beans for the dishes of July and August.)

I saw ads for especially drought-tolerant varieties of Capsicum frutescens.

Everyone we know is pretty healthy and has a roof over their head.

The Tea Party invasion caused me to stop watching TV entirely and as a result more useful work is getting done around here.

Really, really glad that the BP oil spill did not get shoved inland by a tropical storm.

I have learned to greet every possible purchase opportunity with the mental question: "do I really need this?"

Environmental risk denial is not likely to last as a political wedge issue.